


Entropy (Guides Me Home)

by Sky_King



Category: Dr. STONE (Anime), Dr. STONE (Manga)
Genre: After episode 24, Bittersweet, Character Analysis, Couch Cuddles, Crack Treated Seriously, Cuddles, Disaster the fic, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone hugs Senkuu, Fluff and Crack, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Ishigami cuddles, It all goes downhill after Senkuu wakes up, Kinda, Lillian's song, Listening to Byakuya's recording, Multi, Season finale celebration fic, Senkuu confesses, Senkuu cries, Senkuu deserves the world, Sleepy Cuddles, The Author Regrets Everything, cuddlepile, cursed whiplash heartfelt crack, dealing with grief, emotional whiplash, everyone cries, it's sad then it's not, the OT4 is not crack, twice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2019-12-14
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:06:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21795799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sky_King/pseuds/Sky_King
Summary: After listening to his father's voice for the first time in millennia, Senkuu doesn't know what to do with his emotions.Fortunately for him, he's not alone in this.Or the fic where the entire Ishigami Village hugs Senkuu, and have a cuddlepile at Kokuyou's house.
Relationships: Asagiri Gen/Chrome/Ishigami Senkuu/Ruri, Asagiri Gen/Ishigami Senkuu, Asagiri Gen/Ruri, Chrome/Asagiri Gen, Chrome/Ishigami Senkuu, Chrome/Ruri, Ishigami Senkuu & Everyone, Ishigami Senkuu/Ruri
Comments: 22
Kudos: 279





	Entropy (Guides Me Home)

**Author's Note:**

> ...  
> .....  
> I don't know.  
> I just wanted to celebrate the season finale.
> 
> It begins bittersweet. Then Senkuu wakes up.
> 
> I wanted to split it up into 2 fics, then 3 then decided that if I had to suffer while editing this, so do y'all.

Chrome was crying.

He was crying so hard, overcome by a myriad of emotions after listening to a song by an angel.

Science…

Science was so amazing.

Being able to listen to the modern world’s best singer even millennia after her passing. Being able to transmit a message from the past, to the future.

Being preserved for all eternity.

How amazing was science, as to let Ishigami Byakuya himself speak to his son, one last time?

His sobbing grew louder for a second, reaching a crescendo.

By his side, Ruri was holding his arm, between hers, delicately trembling herself. It had been just so much. Joy, wonder, and the bitter-sweetness of it all.

The nostalgia had cloaked the entire village, as they all cried for a father they hadn’t met, for a song they never heard. As they cried over things they had never imagined, crying for everything they had lost. Overwhelmed by Lillian’s beautiful voice, the message, the hope, the dream of a better future.

They were all crying.

Or.

Should be.

Chrome sought out Senkuu, wanting to share a teary grin as they’d always done. To have him laugh at his outburst, and maybe Chrome would poke some fun at him in return. But to his surprise he found him grinning madly at the recorder, face unmarred by tears.

Chrome actually had to rub his eyes to make sure, because it just didn’t add up. Because if _Chrome,_ who was ultimately an outsider, a stranger to Byakuya and Lillian, had been so overcome with emotions…

Shouldn’t Senkuu feel ten billion times stronger?

His eyes began to wander, seeking some sort of reasoning or explanation amidst a sea of crying people. And then his eyes landed on Gen.

Gen… was also not crying.

Like Senkuu, his eyes were trained on the recorder, face void of any tears.

But unlike him, Gen was not composed for once.

His eyes were unfocused, mouth slack as if he still couldn’t believe what he had just heard. He was blind to his surroundings, somehow unaware of the people around him. He wasn’t crying, but there was something brittle in the furrow of his brow. In the darkness of his eyes.

Chrome began to wonder.

If a man he had never met, a singer he had never heard before, had managed to touch his heartstrings like this…

What did it mean to those that had?

What did it mean to a son that had just lost his father? To someone who had been stranded thousands of years in the future with no way of going home?

Missing something you’d never had was painful. But yearning for something you’ll never have again must be devastating.

So why…

He looked back at Senkuu, and he finally picked up the tension on his lean shoulders. The brittleness of his body, his manic grin looking more like cracks on a damaged flask.

About to break. About to spill.

Chrome still didn’t understand him. Not entirely, not enough to see behind his every façade, but if he had learned something after knowing him for so long, he knew Senkuu would not cry.

Even if he desperately wanted to. Even if he needed to.

Ishigami Senkuu was always moving forward. He always had his eyes on the future, always thinking about what they had lost, what they were going to get back.

But in doing so, he had sacrificed his peace of mind.

Even right now, he was refusing to look back. Even at this very moment, he knew that Senkuu wasn’t allowing himself the time to grieve.

That would mean looking to the past.

That would mean showing everyone that he was human.

“Chrome?” By his side, Ruri had noticed something was off. She was wiping her tears with her free hand, softly clutching his arm with her other. She sniffed. “Is there something wrong?”

Chrome looked at her, biting his lip as he thought of how to explain to her, how to properly convey his thoughts, his fears. It all bubbled inside of him, tainted with the fear that he was just overthinking everything and Senkuu really was some amazing human beyond his understanding and…

He looked up at him again and the words slipped out, drowned by the village’s mutters. “I want to hug him.”

Ruri followed his gaze, and understanding dawned on her. She looked back at Chrome, a soft smile on her, before she tightened her hold on his arm and began dragging him forward without needing an explanation. Honestly though, she probably would be able to explain Chrome’s words to himself. She was magical like that.

While heading towards Senkuu, Ruri used her free hand to snatch Gen’s on the way. The Mentalist jumped in place, half-ready to wrench back his limb before realizing it was only Ruri holding his hand. He blinked in surprise, somehow still not in full control of himself. Ruri just smiled at him, softly, patiently, as he let himself be led away.

Chrome was the one to get in Senkuu’s face, screaming excitedly about the recording and about the song, never mentioning his father, his message, or letting his own worry cloud his voice.

“Damn, Senkuu, Science really is amazing!” He was saying, as he softly looped his free arm around him. The older teen flinched, his splinter of a smile threatening to shatter, but Chrome didn’t let him go. Thinking fast, he spouted the only thing he knew would make Senkuu budge from his place. “I have questions about the recorder, but there’s so many people here. Can we go to uhh…”

“My room! Let’s go to my room, it’s close by!” Ruri chimed in, not letting the conversation drop for a second. Because it did, if they allowed Senkuu the space to think, he would remember to say _no_.

Senkuu seemed like he wanted to protest anyway, but Chrome tightened his arm around his waist, wanting to project a sense of security to him. “Just this once, Senkuu.”

“I don’t think we have much of a say in this, Senkuu-chan.” On Ruri’s other side, Gen finally spoke up, voice still somehow fragile despite the playful tone. Barely put together enough not to rouse suspicions at a first glance. He either knew what Ruri and Chrome were trying to do, or he was indulging them, but either way it worked. Three against one, the great village chief didn’t stand a chance.

“Alright,” he said, letting his tense shoulders fall. “Just a moment, then.”

Kohaku was the first to notice their small group trying to leave, but she just exchanged a look with her sister to understand what was going on. She shook her head fondly, before she went up to Kaseki, to make sure the precious gift would be safely put away, before someone accidentally damaged it.

She stopped at the exit of the science lab, seeing the four of them walk in a haphazard fashion, somehow still linked together as they moved forward. She smiled to herself, as she decided to follow them later.

Right now, they didn’t need anyone else.

She was good friends with all of them. She would fight and bleed for them. And she knew so would them. But there was something about the stiffness of Senkuu’s back that told her that her bluntness wasn’t the solution right now.

Besides…

She let her lips pull up in a smirk as she noticed Chrome’s arm around Senkuu’s waist. His other arm interlocked with Ruri’s, while Gen trailed by her side, his hand firmly in her grasp.

Yeah, she would find them later.

* * *

They don’t really make it to her room.

Ruri’s entire house was empty, and when Senkuu caught sight of her half-built couch they had been in the process of making, he collapsed on it, with shaky legs.

Chrome fell with him, never having let go of him, and Ruri and Gen followed suit at a more leisure pace, making their way to sit on Senkuu’s other side.

They were quiet for a moment.

“So,” Senkuu began, voice unnaturally loud in the silence. “What is it you wanted to ask?”

By this point Chrome had already forgotten all about the excuse they had made up, but the younger teen did not fumble. He just looked at him, at the glass-strong façade, at the way he looked a wrong word away from shattering into ten billion pieces.

So instead of saying anything, he just looked down, as he leaned against him, softly pushing him forward so he would be able to hug him from behind more comfortable. He pressed the side of his cheek against his back. He closed his eyes, and held still as he felt Senkuu’s entire body seizing up in disconcert. He held still when his breath hitched, when a half-question exited his mouth. He just hugged him tight, as if he would be able to keep all the pieces together with his own two hands.

Slowly, so slowly, Senkuu’s shoulders began to loosen again. They dropped, as tension slowly began to bleed away from him.

Chrome looked up, a smile creeping up on his face when he met Ruri’s eyes. She was hugging Gen, a hand around his waist, the other on his thigh, leaning into his chest as Gen leaned back into the backrest.

The Mentalist was smiling, even as he covered his eyes with a single hand. He looked just as overwhelmed as Senkuu somehow, even if their reactions were completely different.

Ruri’s smile turned impish, and Chrome couldn’t help but laugh when she continued leaning heavily on his side, until Gen was practically falling on Senkuu and finally got the hint.

Gen laughed, once, twice, exasperated and amused by equal parts. He lowered the hand on his eyes, locking vulnerable eyes with Chrome for a second, before tilting his head forward to catch Senkuu’s attention.

“They have us good, wouldn’t you say, Senkuu-chan?” He hummed, running a soothing hand on his thigh, smiling at him before leaning back again, and draping his arm around him, fingers curling in Chrome’s clothes. He leaned his head on his shoulder, softly bumping the side of his head.

Senkuu didn’t reply, but he didn’t have to.

Gen sighed, hugging Ruri tighter to himself, feeling Senkuu finally giving in.

A breath, a sigh.

A sob, then another.

Senkuu’s body trembled softly, so softly, small shoulders against the weight of the entire world.

Chrome tightened his arms around him, in reassurance. He pressed his face against his shaking back as he joined him in his sobs.

“This is baad,” Chrome laughed as he sobbed. “I can’t stop crying.”

Senkuu’s back muscles stiffened, as he laughed with him. Hesitant, overcome, he managed to find his voice. “That’s- that’s because you’re a crybaby…”

“Pot calling the kettle, Senkuu-chan,” Gen teased him back, moving his arm to rub soft circles on his back, above Chrome’s arm.

Senkuu hiccupped a laugh, lifting his head high, as if wanting to find the sky, yet staring at nothing at all. He opened his mouth. Faltered, once, twice. His hands stopped just before reaching his face, as if stopping himself from hiding his expression away.

Like this he looked like he was praying, begging the heavens above for a reason for his pain.

Ruri couldn’t explain his grief away, but she did the next best thing. She crawled over Gen, her legs over his, as she sat sideways and took Senkuu’s face in her hands. He flinched again, not meeting her eyes but she didn’t let it faze her. She just pressed their foreheads together, trying to bring him back. Trying to tell him that he was not alone. That it was alright to grieve, it was alright to be sad.

But he was not alone.

She couldn’t explain his grief away, but she would explain why he didn’t need to suffer alone.

Senkuu huffed into her hands, then sobbed again.

“I miss him,” he exhaled between breaths. “I miss him so much.”

Ruri felt new tears forming in her eyes.

“I know,” she whispered back. “It’s alright, it’s alright.”

And even though right now, nothing _was_ …

They would make it alright.

Together.

* * *

When Senkuu woke up, he was briefly confused as to where he was. Or who was beside him. Or what he was supposed to be doing. He groaned as he tried to move, feeling his body stiffer than usual. Soon enough he understood that not being able to move had more to do with the fact that there were people on top of him, rather than any sort of post-sleep soreness.

Now the question was…

“Who are you?” Senkuu asked, clearing his throat when it broke, shuffling as much as possible to emphasize his question. His attempts were mostly useless, as was expected. But at least they knew he was awake.

“Actually, Senkuu-chan,” Gen _giggled_ someplace by his right. “It would be easier to ask, _who aren’t you?”_

“What.” Senkuu said, struggling to somewhat sit up, quickly realizing he was lying on someone’s lap, cushioned between at least two other people, stretched out on the couch. Also that there were two more people lying on his legs, and he _was only vaguely certain_ one of them was Ruri.

“Good morning, my sleeping beauty.” Gen teased him, pressing cool hands on his back to help him sit up. “How are you feeling?”

“Confused,” Senkuu replied, as he tried nudging Ruri – oh and that would be Kohaku– off his legs. The lioness was up in a second, all senses on alert. She relaxed when her eyes landed on her sister though, and when she twisted around to meet Senkuu’s gaze her smile was soft.

“Did you know,” she began, voice almost too tender to be coming from her. “That you snore?”

“Wha-? No, I don’t!” Senkuu replied more on instinct that anything. Kohaku just snickered, but at least removed herself from his leg and helped him free his other leg.

But now Gen had decided to lie against his back, and someone else had curled around his midsection and actually, was that Chrome-?

“Baaad,” he snored against his lower back, and Senkuu sighed fondly, struggling to turn his head enough to see him. He soon gave up and instead turned to Kohaku again.

“Who is even on my right?”

“Kinrou.”

“Left?”

“Half of Ginrou. The other half spilled down the couch.”

“I’m surprised so many of us even _fit_ on this couch...” He paused, thoughts swirling inside his mind before scowling at her. “If your couch breaks I’m not going to mend it, this was not its intended use.”

“Whaat?” Gen whined into his ear, threatening to drag him down again. “Do you mean to say it’s not for comforting sad friends?”

Senkuu blushed. “Shut up.”

“Why are you guys making such a ruckus, go to sleep again.”

Senkuu swiveled his head around so fast he heard a crack. “…Magma?”

“What do you _want_?” He snapped, from his spot on the ground, back against the couch, facing the entrance. He couldn’t see much of him, but he had his arms crossed over his puffed chest, as if reluctant to be there. The effect was broken, however by old man Kaseki snoring loudly by his side, using his lap as a pillow.

“I- um, nothing.” Senkuu backtracked at the last moment, deciding not to break this rare moment of peace. But he was a little worried… “Maybe we should get Kaseki on the couch? The floor certainly can’t be comfortable…”

“Tch, of course the floor is uncomfortable.” Magma sneered without even turning. “That’s why Kaseki’s hogging all the extra pillows, I’m the one who should be getting invited up the couch.”

And sure enough, as surreal as it was, the young man was indeed sitting on the ground, while Kaseki’s entire body was cushioned by an array of loose pillows.

Senkuu had half a mind to ask if this had been Magma’s doing, but decided that their peace was egg-shell fragile as it were.

Instead he decided to focus on the faint noises of someone… suffocating?

“Gen,” he said, as he struggled to turn around. “Is Kinrou dying?”

“Probably.” He replied, wholly unhelpful. Senkuu groaned, trying to wiggle out of like three separate holds, only to realize he was probably pushing Kinrou further against the couch.

“Gen,” he pleaded. “Help him.”

“He’s going to be fine. Probably.”

“ _Gen.”_

He could feel him eye rolling as if _Senkuu_ was the one overreacting, but at least that got him off his back. He slipped however, and Chrome head-butted Senkuu on his lower back as he jerked up in response to being squashed underneath Gen.

Senkuu winced in sympathy and in pain by equal measures, but at least this freed him enough to finally turn around and separate a rather red-looking Kinrou from the couch’s deadly grasp.

His near-sighted friend gulped in air like a landed fish, fortunately not wearing his glasses on this occasion.

“Are you okay?” Senkuu asked, despite it being a rather redundant question by this point. Kinrou’s wide eyes finally focused on him, squinting wildly.

“Ah, thanks for saving me, Senkuu. Sorry about this, I don’t know when I fell asleep.”

“Yeah me neither.” Senkuu replied, feeling a mix of confused and fond. “I do have to ask though… what are you all doing here?”

Kinrou tried pushing non-existent glasses up his nose. “Kohaku told me and Ginrou that you were feeling a little upset after hearing your father’s words. So we went to check up on you, but you were already asleep. We stuck around for a while and it looks like I fell asleep as well. This is unbecoming as a guard, I really should be getting back to- “

“Don’t worry about that,” a new voice said somewhere to Senkuu’s distant left. “Some of the other villagers volunteered when it became obvious you were in a, ah, dilemma.”

He shared an equally surprised look at his friend. He then squinted in the voice’s vague direction.

“Jasper, is that you?”

“Unfortunately.”

“I’m also here!” None other than former village chief Kokuyo said, with a jarring amount of cheer at odds with his best friend. At Senkuu’s back, Chrome used him to properly sit up, while Gen just snickered softly to himself. “We needed to see what was this ruckus all about.”

“I bet you were just trying to fish for a hug from your daughters…” Gen said rather loudly. Senkuu proceeded to use him as leverage to finish turning around without killing any of his friends, which forced Gen to shut up or risk falling off entirely.

“Why would I want to hug some old fart though,” Kohaku as always replied with enough candor to melt lead. Probably gold as well. Her father sobbed into Jasper’s shoulder, but even he could tell she was just about to burst out laughing.

Senkuu felt a bewildered smile pull at his lips, as he realized that Jasper was cradling a sleeping Suika against his chest. The man noticed him and smiled a bit embarrassed. “She fell asleep in Ruri’s arms, and I was worried she would end up being squashed by accident so I took the liberty.”

“Thanks about that,” Senkuu replied with a small laugh. “Do you want to get on? I should probably…”

Jasper just smiled at him, as if understanding why words failed him. Why suddenly, he felt tired, exhausted, why he couldn’t think of what he was going to have to do once he left the warm illusion of safety he was blanketed in.

“We’re in no hurry, Senkuu. And I think you also deserve to take it easy today. Or would you want to let down all your friends that came to see you?”

Senkuu gave him the mildly exasperated look this deserved, which was returned with an understanding he was embarrassed to see.

“Jasper’s right though,” Chrome mumbled, shuffling around to be able to lay his cheek on Senkuu’s lap, peering up at him lazily. “A lot has happened recently. We’re well in our way to winning the war. Even just this afternoon, even just this night. You need it, Senkuu. You both need it, actually.”

Gen sighed, and pressed his forehead against Senkuu’s back, letting through all the emotions, all the exhaustion Senkuu was feeling.

“How embarrassing,” Gen laughed. “Seen right through me.”

“Through the both of us,” Senkuu grumbled.

“You have everything on display, Senkuu-chan. You’re clearer than glass, it’s no effort at all to ‘see through you’.”

“Gen, I love you but shut the fuck up.”

“Did you just-?”

Senkuu Olympically ignored him, trying to get off the couch with little success. What he ended up doing was kicking Ginrou off the couch entirely. This in turn, resulted in him falling on Suika’s dog, Chalk, which in turn made the dog bite his hand in retaliation.

Ginrou screamed at the top of his lungs, scrambling to his feet, while Chalk scampered off barking wildly. In his panic, he forgot to account on the half a dozen bodies strewn all across the floor. So of course, as Murphy’s Law dictated, he tripped over Kaseki and head-butted Magma’s groin.

Magma wheezed like a deflating balloon, jerking Kaseki and Ginrou off him, as he curled up into a ball of agony.

Ginrou, making use of his scant survival instinct took this opportunity to get up and dizzily make his way outside, hoping to get away before the fallen soldier recovered.

As was expected, it wasn’t long before Magma threw himself at him with the intention of avenging all of his future children Ginrou had just murdered.

“Aren’t they feisty,” Kaseki laughed, musing his long beard as he tried smoothing it out again. Currently it looked as if he had Senkuu’s hair as a beard. Turquoise out of all people then appeared by his side, and helped him to his feet. She looked rather miffed.

Senkuu vaguely wondered how long she had been here.

She met eyes with him, then cleared her throat as if embarrassed. “Anyway, the village chief is taking some official vacations, but the rest of you, don’t forget your duties for tonight.” She declared to the half-unconscious pile of bodies at her feet.

Somehow satisfied either way, she nodded at Senkuu, then at Kokuyo and Jasper before making her way outside, claiming something about making sure the current guard wasn’t sleeping on the job. After her, Jasper also got up, handed a sleeping Suika back to Ruri before following his friend.

Kokuyo then also got up, only to pick up Kaseki’s forgotten pillows, and make sure the rest of the villagers piled inside his living room were as comfortable as possible. Then he too excused himself.

Anxiety wormed its way back into Senkuu, feeling like he too should be doing things, should be going places even if the day was already ending and there wasn’t much he could do in the first place.

But Chrome, and Gen and even Kinrou tightened their arms around him.

“It’s okay,” Gen whispered. “It’s okay, Senkuu-chan. Relax for once in your life. We got this.”

The words, emotions, everything got caught in his chest. He wasn’t about to cry, he had exhausted the year’s supply of tears in the morning, but somehow his feelings were running just as strongly.

“Why?” He could only ask.

“Why not?” Kohaku shot back, as she neatly slid off the (probably broken) couch, and headed for him. “Anyway, come here, let’s go somewhere more comfortable.”

“Wha-?” Senkuu began, even as he was finally released and he began preparing to stand up. “I can walk; you know?”

“You can,” Kohaku agreed with a shrug. She then lunged after him and picked him up with an ease that was nothing but unfair. “But I don’t care.”

Senkuu had half a mind to protest, then just decided to go limbless in her hold. His head spilled back over her arms so he could weakly glare at his unhelpful entourage.

Ruri just giggled at him, as she took Gen’s hand to stand up, not letting go even after having her feet on the ground. Chrome also picked himself up, taking Ruri’s other hand as they trailed behind him.

Slowly but surely the rest of the villagers began to wake up and trickle out, but Senkuu didn’t get to ask where they were going as he was unceremoniously thrown atop a soft surface.

With his face pressed against a soft material and with not a single millimeter of will, he did not try getting up as he heard soft laughter follow him. The bed he was on dipped as he was joined again, and before someone fell on him. He wheezed softly, and was about to complain when someone else joined them and Senkuu couldn’t even breathe anymore.

Ruri giggled by his ear.

“You guys are useless,” he managed to exhale, with no heat behind his words. As her only reply, she kissed him on the side of the head.

“If he really does pass out I’ll just remind you that none of your harem can carry you so watch out. I’m leaving”

“Harem?” Senkuu wheezed as a third body joined the increasing weight on his back. God he was going to die at this rate.

“My, my, Senkuu-chan. Haven’t you realized? After so boldly confessing to me…” Gen sing-songed, and thankfully had the sense to slide off him, taking Chrome with him.

“Ah,” Senkuu said as he rolled on his back, dragging Ruri into his arms instead. He sought out Gen, looking so vulnerable and fond he stole the words from him. “I said that, didn’t I?”

A grin spread on Gen’s lips, even as he pulled Chrome between his legs, resting his chin on his shoulder. I love you too, Senkuu-chan.” He tilted his head so his lips would graze Chrome’s neck. The teen shivered. “I ove-lay Ruri-chan…” His nose dragged a line from his collarbone to his jaw and Chrome laughed, blushing wildly. “And I love Chrome-chan… Who would have thought I’d learn to share?”

Senkuu didn’t answer immediately, as he rapidly blinked at the bedsheets. In his arms, Ruri squirmed, turning around so she could face him. She softly grabbed his face, and kissed him on the forehead.

“We love you, Senkuu.” She whispered, softly, so softly. She kissed his cheeks, his nose. She looked into his eyes, shy and blushing herself. “So it’s okay. It’s okay if you need to cry, we won’t judge you.”

“Man,” Senkuu half-laughed, half-sobbed. “Romance is truly illogical.”

“If all of life is logical, doesn’t it lose its magic though?” Chrome spoke up, still snug against Gen. He grinned at Senkuu, no judgment in his eyes. “Let love be illogical. Don’t try to question it. We love you, Senkuu!”

A tear gathered on his long eyelashes, like a beautiful gemstone. “I…” He choked, he blinked some more, dislodging the tear, letting it run a lonely path down his cheek. “I love you too.”

Ruri kissed his tear away.

His tears, his fears. They all disappeared under their gentle hands.

Senkuu closed his eyes for a second. He stopped running after the unreachable future, and looked at the present. He cried. And laughed. And let himself live.

And for the second time that day, he fell asleep. Comfortable in their hold, secure in the knowledge that he was not alone.

* * *

“-weetie, honey, love, Senkuu-chan? Oh, he woke up!”

Senkuu blinked repeatedly, the sleep and grit making his eyelids heavy. He tried lifting a hand to rub at them, but in an increasingly familiar fashion, he found himself trapped between warm bodies.

“Gen?” He croaked out, cringing when a mild headache began forming behind his eyes. His throat was parched. “How late is it?”

“Not at all, we’re just in time for dinner!”

“…” Senkuu opened his mouth, closed it. Opened it again, “okay I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m _walking there_.”

* * *

They get him some water, they help style his hair back into a semblance of order if not tidiness, and then they practically drag Senkuu outside by the arms. But at least they let him walk.

He’s only mildly thankful because he knew that Kohaku was right and none of them could even dream of lifting another person, less so walking with them.

Kohaku was really something else.

On their way to wherever Gen was leading them, Senkuu was stopped by a couple of the Village’s elders. He crouched down when they asked him to, and was still somehow surprised when they hugged him. Briefly, familiarly, fondly.

“Thank you, village chief,” they said. “Thanks for everything you have done for us.”

A hug, then another, then another. Every single resident of this small town came up to hug him as soon as he caught their eye.

Senkuu was bewildered. He was shocked, but little by little, the grin on his face kept on growing. Returning the hugs with as much vigor as them.

He just accepted their affection, and returned it tenfold.

Like that, their trek was slow-going, but in the end Senkuu was greeted with a jaw-dropping sight.

In a perimeter of merrily cracking torches, more than a dozen tables were aligned in a haphazard circle, each and every one of them laden with food, and drinks and every single villager seemed to already be there.

They all raised their glasses when they saw them arrive, cheering wildly his name, making Senkuu feel as if they truly, really welcomed him here.

_Doesn’t this alleviate your guilt? For dragging them all to a war?_

As if reading his mind, Gen separated himself from Ruri to grab his hand, giving him an encouraging squeeze.

Senkuu laughed. “You guys are crazy. I’m ten billion percent sure of it.”

“I mean; we are involved with you.” Gen answered unimpressed as he led him to his place at the centermost table. “I wouldn’t expect anything less if I were you.”

The smile on his face was fleeting, tentative.

Real.

He looked at the villagers. At his villagers. He looked at the ovens he had built in the distance, at the warm clothes, at the seasoning station.

He looked at their happy faces, at their welcoming gestures.

He looked at all of them, and he realized.

He was finally home.

**Author's Note:**

> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Let me know what you thought?


End file.
